CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Hyatt Hotels Corporation (NYSE: H) announced today that a Hyatt affiliate has signed a franchise agreement with The Chartres Lodging Group, LLC, for a Hyatt Place hotel in Waikiki, Hawaii. Under the agreement, the hotel, which is currently operating under the name Ocean Resort Hotel Waikiki, will undergo an extensive renovation and will be re-branded in the fall of 2011 as the 425-room Hyatt Place Waikiki.

Kokua Hospitality, LLC (http://www.kokuahospitality.com/), also announced its appointment by Chartres Lodging and Morgan Stanley Real Estate to manage the Waikiki property and oversee its renovation and repositioning. Once the renovation is completed, Kokua will continue to manage the property. The Ocean Resort Hotel Waikiki was acquired in December 2010 by a joint venture of Chartres Lodging and Morgan Stanley.

"We are excited to work with Kokua Hospitality on our first Hyatt Place project in Hawaii," said Chris Ivy, senior vice president, real estate and development for Hyatt Hotels & Resorts. "The Hyatt Place brand has enjoyed great success since its United States debut in 2006 and we continue to look for opportunities, through either new builds or conversions like this one, to introduce the Hyatt Place brand to additional markets. Today, in addition to the 160 Hyatt Place hotels open in the U.S., new Hyatt Place hotels are under development in the U.S., Costa Rica, India, and Panama."

"Kokua Hospitality is delighted to have been selected to operate the Ocean Resort Hotel Waikiki and to oversee a dramatic renovation that will culminate with the introduction this fall of Hyatt Place Waikiki Beach," said Bruce Blum, managing director of Kokua Hospitality. "We look forward to working closely with Hyatt and lodging investment leaders Chartres Lodging and Morgan Stanley to ensure the property's success through its transformation."

Over the next 18 months, the Ocean Resort Hotel Waikiki will undergo an extensive renovation, including a complete redesign of the lobby, guestrooms and public spaces. During the renovation, guest rooms, located in the hotel's 14- and 19-story towers, will be reconfigured under Hyatt brand standards.

"The Ocean Resort Hotel Waikiki acquisition signifies Morgan Stanley's commitment to the lodging investment sector," said Kirk Pederson, executive director at Morgan Stanley Investment Management. "With close ties to our investment partner Chartres Lodging and a track record of operating successes, Kokua Hospitality and its team of veteran management and turn-around experts were a natural fit to manage this joint venture asset."

About Hyatt Hotels Corporation

Hyatt Hotels Corporation, headquartered in Chicago, is a leading global hospitality company with a proud heritage of making guests feel more than welcome. Thousands of members of the Hyatt family in 45 countries strive to make a difference in the lives of the guests they encounter every day by providing authentic hospitality. The Company's subsidiaries manage, franchise, own and develop hotels and resorts under the Hyatt®, Park Hyatt®, Andaz®, Grand Hyatt®, Hyatt Regency®, Hyatt Place® and Hyatt Summerfield Suites® brand names and have locations under development on five continents. Hyatt Residential Group, Inc., a Hyatt Hotels Corporation subsidiary, develops, operates and markets as Hyatt Residence Club and Hyatt Residences. As of September 30, 2010, the Company's worldwide portfolio consisted of 447 properties. For more information, please visit www.hyatt.com.

About Kokua Hospitality, LLC

Kokua Hospitality, LLC, is a hotel management firm founded by its parent, The Chartres Lodging Group, LLC, with the mandate to become the operator of choice for strategic institutional and select private lodging investors by producing superior results as turnaround specialists. Created by veteran lodging investment and management experts to appeal to an investor's sensibility, Kokua Hospitality blends best-in-class operating practices with an owner's DNA. The name (pronounced "ko-kooh-ah") is Hawaiian for "to serve." Kokua Hospitality manages a growing portfolio of hotels and resorts nationwide. For more information on Kokua Hospitality, please visit http://www.kokuahospitality.com/ and follow us on Twitter @kokuahotels and http://kokuahospitality.wordpress.com/.

About The Chartres Lodging Group, LLC

The Chartres Lodging Group, LLC, is an investment and advisory firm focused on the investment, asset management and renovation of high-quality lodging assets. Chartres Lodging Group's principals have been responsible for more than $8 billion of lodging investments and have asset-managed more than 100 upscale and luxury hotels, resorts and conference centers. The firm is currently responsible for a $5 billion, 15,600-room portfolio of luxury and upscale hotels, conference centers and resorts located throughout the United States and Japan. Chartres' principals and employees are direct investors in 65 percent of this portfolio. Chartres Lodging is headquartered in San Francisco, with offices in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Tokyo. For more information on The Chartres Lodging Group, please visit http://www.chartreslodging.com/.

About Morgan Stanley Real Estate Investing

Morgan Stanley Real Estate Investing is one of the largest real estate investment managers globally. Since 1991, it has acquired $173.7 billion of real estate assets worldwide and currently manages $59.5 billion in real estate assets on behalf of its clients. For more information about Morgan Stanley Real Estate Investing, please visit http://www.morganstanley.com/realestate/.

Morgan Stanley is a leading global financial services firm providing a wide range of investment banking, securities, investment management and wealth management services. The Firm's employees serve clients worldwide including corporations, governments, institutions and individuals from more than 1,300 offices in 42 countries. For further information about Morgan Stanley, please visit http://www.morganstanley.com/.

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